Year in Produce 2023: Industry continues to eye Kroger-Albertsons merger
Editor's note: The following is one of the issues highlighted in The Packer's Year in Produce 2023 review.
When The Kroger Co. announced its plans to acquire Albertsons Cos. for $24.6 billion in October 2022, it sparked immediate reaction from those both for and against. Industry organizations including National Grocers Association, Western Growers, the California Fresh Fruit Association, Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers and others swiftly joined a number of state officials in opposition to the high-profile merger on antitrust grounds.
In September 2023, the Cincinnati-based Kroger and the Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons announced a comprehensive divestiture plan with C&S Wholesale Grocers, in connection with the proposed merger. Designed as an antitrust remedy, Kroger agreed to sell 413 stores, and as many as 650 stores to C&S.
Kroger has said it anticipates the completion of the merger in early 2024, but in mid-December, six U.S. senators and representatives, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission opposing the proposed merger, arguing it would “harm consumers, workers and the grocery industry as a whole,” according to Senator Warren’s website. The letter came before the FTC’s Dec. 15 deadline to act on the merger. The FTC’s deadline was then extended to Jan. 17.
